Former Notre Dame Running Back Gi'Bran Payne Commits To Cincinnati
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Former Notre Dame running back Gi'Bran Payne has committed to the University of Cincinnati. This was first reported by Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports. Payne has been a member of an extremely loaded running back room in South Bend for quite some time. He arrived on campus in the same recruiting class as stud running back Jadarian Price who has also played his final season in South Bend; Price is gearing up to start his professional career.
Payne was one of the few remaining members of the 2022 class still on the roster, but he was one of the first players to opt into the portal once the regular season concluded. The 2022 recruiting class only has two potential players with the ability to return in linebacker Jaylen Sneed and center Ashton Craig. All other players have either already transferred, elected to transfer this offseason or have gone onto their professional careers.
The Cincinnati, Ohio native will return to his hometown to play for the Bearcats in his final season of college football. Payne was a four-star recruit per 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN. On3's industry rankings had his tagged as the No. 334 recruit in the country and the No. 12 overall recruit in the state of Ohio. On3 also graded him as a three-star recruit in the transfer portal and the No. 1282 overall player in the portal according to their Portal Industry rankings.
Payne had limited opportunities as a running back in South Bend due to the talent around him. He was their primary third down running back in 2023 and racked up 168 rushing yards on 45 carries, 58 receiving yards on nine receptions for four total touchdowns, two on the ground and two through the air.
He was expected to be the primary third down running back in 2024 but an ACL injury sidelined him for the season paving the way for true freshman Aneyas Williams to take over that responsibility. Williams went on to make some big time plays for the Irish during their post season run, especially in the Orange Bowl in their 27-24 win over Penn State.
This past regular season, Payne saw very limited action and sat behind star running back Jeremiyah Love and his recruiting classmate, Price. At the season's end, Payne only appeared in three games against Arkansas on the road, Stanford and Navy at home and played a total of 16 snaps all season. He finished his Notre Dame career with 226 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, 58 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns with almost all of his production coming in 2023.
Payne is a strong fit in the Bearcat's backfield and has the opportunity to be 'the guy' in 2026. Cincinnati has produced an NFL caliber running back in recent years in Jerome Ford who currently plays for the Cleveland Browns. Hopefully, Payne is able to stay healthy as he gears up to finish his collegiate career back in his home town. We wish him nothing but the best for the 2026 season.
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